Tames the Wolf
by XxBloodStarsinBlackSkyxX
Summary: Before he had forever with Kaltezira, who exactly was Zhayrald, prince of the avian city of Arez? What secrets does the mind-reader hide? Full summary inside. Sequel/Companion Story to Untamed Soul. T for violence, language, and sexual references.
1. Prologue

**hey everyone! twilightwing is back! and i changed my name. you can only guess where i got it from. lol. :) **

**ANYWAY for anyone new to this, this story is sort of a companion story to Untamed Soul so really you could read them in any order you want i just suggest you read that one first. **

**heres the summary 'cause i know i won't fit it:**

**Before he had forever with Kaltezira, who exactly was Zhayrald, prince of the avian city of Arez? What secrets does the mind-reader hide? Who exactly is his father that we have never heard of? Why does he hate Vdzr so much? How exactly did he cope for two years while Kaltezira was trapped in Zlhorv and not lose his sanity? The sequel to Untamed Soul. AU.**

**if you recognize it, you get a cookie. if you review, you get a Zhayrald plushie. :)**

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_Prologue: Why _

I had never really fit in. I think kids my age just wanted me to hang out with them because I was a prince. I could see it in their eyes. They never really liked me for who I was. That's all I really wanted in my life, a friend who wanted to be around me just to be around me, not because of my status. I watched the children play in the streets of the town, flying between buildings and laughing, from my bedroom window. I sighed and turned around, terrified as my room melted into the forest that lay between Arez and Zlhorv.

I knew this dream too well. It haunted my mind every night. I knew when I would wake up, my body drenched in cold sweat, my breath rapid and rugged and I could only wait for that moment to come. I was hiding in a tree, my small eight-year-old hands gripping the bark of the tree like a life line. Below, a man whom I knew like the back of my hand and a black wolf circled. The man had hair as red as the sun at sunrise, his skin an olive tone like mine, and I knew, but could not see, that his eyes were a mysterious shade of grey or an extremely light blue. The man I knew as Worzreng, my father and my only true friend.

Worzreng and the black wolf continued to circle each other silently, glaring at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. The wolf I had no name for but knew by the way he moved and watched my father's every move that he was part human. I had heard rumors of avians that had the ability to shape shift into wolves, and I had good reason to believe that this wolf was one of them.

Without warning, the wolf leaped at my father. I expected to thrust my eyes open now to find myself sitting up right in my bed, staring at my wall covered in cold sweat, but the feeling of being ripped from the dream never came. I could only wait for that sensation as I watched in horror as Worzreng and the wolf fought each other, both holding their own and managing to wound the other in some way or another. My father drew his white blade across the fur of the black wolf several times, dying the blade with the blood of his enemy, but all was pointless.

The wolf managed to get behind my father and pounced at him, aiming at the base of his neck. His aim was true and Worzreng had no time to react. As he turned and the wolf's fangs sunk into the base of his neck, I could have sworn he saw me hiding in the trees, disobeying his orders to head home after he heard the wolf approach. The snap of my father's neck echoed through the trees and ripped me from the dream.

"Worzreng!" I shouted as I bolted upright in my bed, drenched in a cold sweat as if someone had dumped a bucket of water over my head. My heart beat still thundered in my ears as my mother entered the room.

"It was that dream again, wasn't it?" Ziaghra asked, sitting next to me on my bed. I pulled my knees to my bare chest, wrapping my arms around them, and nodded.

"It was worse this time," I murmured. "I saw the fight. I saw him die." My mother nodded and wrapped around an arm around my shoulders. The topic hurt her more than it hurt me. I could only imagine how much it must hurt her, to have her husband die and have her son tell her that he witnessed the entire thing.

As my heart beat slowed, I remembered that it was my sixteenth birthday. A day that should be one filled with joy and happiness starting off on such a depressing note was not a very good sign.

"Throw some clothes on," my mother said after a while. "I have to show you something." I nodded and got up, pulling a t-shirt and a pair of old jeans from my closet. If need be, I would change later. Ziaghra nodded and walked out of the room, I followed with increasing curiosity.

She led me to the main hall of the castle, and into another hall. I had never been in this part of the castle before. Large, familiar looking pictures of various scenes covered the walls while a carpet ran down the center of the tile floor. Torches were placed in the spaces between each picture, illuminating the hall and providing the only light.

"All of these prophecy paintings are copies of the originals that hang in Zlhorv but I should have told you about this one a long time ago, Zhayrald," Ziaghra sighed, stopping in front of a covered painting. "I should have told you the moment you told me…Worzreng was murdered. I feared that you would suffer the same fate as him when you found out."

"Mother, what are you talking about?" I asked. Ziaghra sighed again and rested a hand on the cloth that covered the painting before us, the tears in her eyes glowing with the light of the torch's flame. She looked at me and wordlessly pulled the cloth off the canvas to revel the painting beneath.

As the white fabric landed at my feet, I was not looking at the subject of the painting, but the figure hidden in the background. The black wolf of my nightmares stood, hidden by its black fur against the night sky of the painting. As my fingers traced the outline and tightened into a fist over the ominous figure, my eyes found another figure painted in black, the figure of a woman who looked almost as ominous as the wolf, but not as terrifying.

"Interesting that you should find Vdzr's outline in the painting before anything else," Ziaghra whispered.

"Vdzr?" I asked, the foreign name rolling off my tongue.

"The name of the avian that killed your father," Ziaghra explained. I froze and glared at the picture with a new found hate. I wanted to track down this murderer and kill him myself for taking away my only friend, the only person who really understood me, my father.

"But that is not why I showed you this," my mother said, breaking my thoughts and seeing my intentions. "Look at the entire picture, not just the evil hidden in the back."

I looked at the picture again, my eyes traveling across the bottom where I found the silhouette of two cities, one I recognized as Arez and the other as Zlhorv. An eerie mist towered above these cities.

Finding the silhouette of the woman again, I found another in the painting. The similarities between the two women were there, but not extremely noticeable. While the woman hidden in the back was painted on a larger scale, for a certain reason I would imagine, I could see that the two were related due to the similarities in their figures and the angles of their faces.

It was not the hidden ominous looking woman that held my attention or the silhouette of the murderer that made my breath stop in my throat. It was the woman painted in the center of the painting. While most normal men would have called her ordinary, I called her extraordinary. Her wild waist long hair was tossed by an invisible wind and was the same shade as mine, a light brown. The mist lapped at her bare feet and up her lean muscular legs which were hidden by a pair of jeans that looked like they had been ripped to shreds by a thousand set of claws. The simple, torn black tank top she wore accented her simple figure perfectly. Her long arms laced with lean muscle hung at her side and in her hands, she held a sword with a blade as red as blood. Her hazel eyes bore holes into mine, glaring at me with an intensity that did not frighten me but made me want to know more about her. The wings that spread from her back were darker than the background of the painting. The black feathers were as black as my own with blood red tips that matched her blade. On her left wing, the second to outer most feather had a tip as white as mine.

"Who is she?" I whispered, tracing the outline of her wings with my fingertips.

"That is Kaltezira, Blood Stars in Black Sky, daughter of Itrantia, Flies with Hawks, and Balvor, White Wolf. She is the princess of Zlhorv," my mother explained. There was no way this beautiful creature could have been the daughter of Itrantia, the power hungry dictator-slash-queen of Zlhorv who waged war on Arez several years ago. I heard Ziaghra's footsteps fade away but I remained examining the painting.

I realized that I stood behind the girl, my semi-long light brown hair slightly tossed by the unseen wind. I looked older, although not by much, three years at the most. Against my darker toned skin, my blue eyes sparkled. My black wings with white feather tips were spread like Kaltezira's. Tracing the outlines of my own wings, I noticed that my second to outer most feather on my left wing, was not tipped white, but a red as deep as the blood that ran through my veins, the same red of Kaltezira's blade and feather tips. I had to open my left wing a fraction to confirm that all my feathers were still tipped in white. As Kaltezira did, I too held a sword in my hands, a sword with a white blade.

By then, my mother had returned, carrying something wrapped in a white cloth, but I was too occupied to notice.

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"You and Kaltezira will end the war between Zlhorv and Arez, defeating both Itrantia and Vdzr. Both of you have powers beyond your wildest dreams that you have not discovered yet," Ziaghra explained. My eyes tore away from the painting for a moment as a memory flashed across my eyes.

_We were learning about the prophecies of the past in school that day. The subject didn't really interest me very much as I doodled on my desk in the back corner of the class. _

"_Most of the great kings have a prophecy that state that they are destined to end a war, bring peace to a land, or fight off a great threat," the teacher explained. _

_Everyone turned to stare at me as if they were expecting me to comment on that; I just looked back at them, lost, confused and not really caring. Yeah, I was a prince sitting in the back of a normal classroom; I thought to myself, you all can go back to learning now while I pretend to care._

Now I realized why they had all stared at me. They knew my destiny more than I did and expected me to say something about it.

"Does Kaltezira live in Zlhorv?" I managed ask after a long silence, suddenly caught up in the way Kaltezira's name rolled off my tongue. Ziaghra shook her head.

"No one knows where she is," she said. "She disappeared along with Balvor not long after her birth." I sighed. So there was a chance I would never see her. But this was a prophecy painting, and so far, to the extent of my knowledge, none had been wrong. Only as my mother pressed the object wrapped in the white cloth into my hands did I notice that she had been holding it in the first place.

"What is this?" I asked, looking down at the object.

"Open it," Ziaghra told me. "It is time that it was passed to you. It is rightfully yours." I looked over at her to find her smiling at me and slowly unraveled the cloth. As the last of the fabric fell away, I realized what this was.

"Mother," I barely managed to whisper. I gripped the sheath of the sword in my left hand and wrapped my right hand around the handle. Silently, my father's sword slid from its sheath, fitting perfectly in my hand and feeling like nothing at all. I had seen this blade many times for Worzreng had shown me several times when I was younger and it haunted my memories and my dreams. The pure white blade held no marks from its duel with Vdzr eight years ago. "You want me to have this?"

"Worzreng would have wanted the same. Besides, it is rightfully yours," she repeated. I was at a loss for words as I returned to the sword to its sheath and belted it, my father's sword hanging at my side. To hold my father's sword, to have it rest at my side, to call it my own, was something completely different than admiring it in my memories.

"Thank you," I said, hugging Ziaghra. My mother smiled and hugged me back.

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***gasp***

**his deepest secret, reveled! i hope u enjoyed it.**

**so i wanna tell you guys something.**

**i was sitting in geometry(a class that shouldn't be considered math) and i was daydreaming about if they made this into a movie and who would play the characters. then it hit me. Vdzr kinda, just kinda, looks like Fang and Zhayrald kinda looks like Zac Efron! *gasp* if this was made into a movie, he wouldn't play Zhay. no offence to Zac Efron lovers but im not the biggest fan of HSM. *shrugs* the first was ok but the seguels were just major overkill.**

**anyway, if you review, ill be rly happy. :) the button doesnt bite!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Before i forget:**

**I don't own any MaxRide or Twilight references. I own the world of Yer and all who inhabit it. :)**

**Time to answer the questions i got in my reviews(you can ask me questions ya know. i just know u were all wondering who Zhay's father was in Untamed Soul..don't lie.)**

**Wings(The only person who's asked questions)-**

**1. i have 2 methods that give me my totally random names: 1) i go 2 rink works. com / namegen (just without the spaces. lol.) OR 2) i just punch my keyboard and see what i get(my personal favorite) OR i just put letters together when im writing it by hand when my sister steals my computer, but its the same thing.**

**2. don't try and hide it everyone. u've been wondering about this too...*drum roll* how do you pronounce Vdzr's name?! well. i found that name on that name generator site and thought it was awesome cause it has no vowels! i use it for all my evil wolf characters in RPs. :) anyway, i'm not really sure how to pronounce it but here's my best guess: Vud-zer. I might just make a list of abbreviations cause one of my friends complained that you couldn't pronounce the names and that Kaltezira(KAL-te-zir-a) doesn't roll off the tongue but it does...to me at least....**

**So that's it. feel free to ask more questions 'cause i actually enjoy answering them! lol!**

**now im gonna ask you guys a question: should i write a prequel on how Max and the flock save the world and this totally awesome world of Yer came to be? cause i just got the idea...so tell me in your review. it would be after the fifth book comes out in like a couple weeks just so im up 2 date...**

**AND NOW IN THE STORY...we get to the good part! no boring beginning like in Untamed Soul(i wrote it and i thought the first six chapters were boring...if i rewrite it those are gone. especially chapter five...) but we just jump write into it! sorry if its kinda shortish..but if you review you get the next chapter...I Swear She Flew Off the Canvas...i love that title..:)**

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Chapter One: Kaltezira

"Zhayrald!" Ziaghra shouted, ripping the sheets off my bed and sending me toppling to the floor.

"What!? Is the Zlhorv army attacking?" I asked, jumping up.

"I honestly don't know," she said. I pulled a pair of jeans over my boxers and a t-shirt over my bare chest.

"Then why did you wake me up like that?" I demanded, belting my father's sword. It had been a little over a year since my mother had given me the sword and told me of the prophecy that surrounded me.

"It would be better if I showed you," she said with a sigh. She ran out the door and I just stood there, confused. Darting back into the room, my mother grabbed my hand and dragged me behind her. "Come on, now, we don't have all day." As we ran down the halls, and jumped staircases, I noticed that the sun had dyed the sky a brilliant red, an almost blood red, as it rose. In the main hall, we were joined by fifty soldiers.

"Okay, this is anything but anything of no significance. What's going on?" I asked again.

"Zhayrald, just trust me," my mother said. "You will understand once you see for yourself." As we reached the doors, the soldiers burst through first, going into a defensive position and pointing their arrows at something, and Ziaghra stopped me.

"Don't do anything stupid and reckless," she told me before pulling me through the doors.

_Why would I do anything stupid and reckless?_ I asked myself. And then I looked at what the soldiers were pointing their arrows at. _Oh, that's why._

Just standing there like nothing was happening or hundreds of arrows were being pointed at her, was Kaltezira. One of her hands griped the pole on the top of the watch tower, her wings were spread and her hair was tossed by the wind. The rising sun at her back was almost the same blood red as her wing tips and her blade were supposed to be. At a quick glance, she looked like she was ready to call down the army of Zlhorv and destroy us all. As her eyes seemed to land on me, I saw that she wasn't going to do that.

"Zhay, go up there and make sure she isn't here to kill us, okay?" Ziaghra asked me. I nodded and took a single step closer to Kaltezira. "And remember, nothing stupid and reckless," my mother reminded me.

I nodded again and took off running down the streets. My wings unfurled and carried me into the sky. As I flew closer to the watchtower, I felt thousands of eyes watching me. All of these people knew my destiny, the prophecy surrounding me and the girl standing on the watchtower that looked like she was going to kill us, they probably told it as a bedtime story.

"Kaltezira," I whispered as I landed in front of her, still amazed by how her name rolled off my tongue.

"Hi," she said. I heard myself chuckle, for what reason I don't really know, as I placed my hand over hers as it gripped the flag pole. I half expected her to say something as I smiled at her, but she remained silent. She looked like she had just walked out of the painting that hung in the hall and flew up here, her wings, her hair, and even what she was wearing was exactly like the picture.

The only difference was in her eyes. While they remained hazel, they were not glaring at me with an icy gaze as they did in the painting. They reveled so much about her. She looked lost and confused, not like she was going to kill us.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?" I asked, breaking the silence. That might have been the stupidest thing I have ever said, but at least it was something of significance.

"Yeah, how do you know my name?" she countered. I let myself laugh nervously as I ran my fingers through my hair. Now I knew why she was confused.

"How do you not know mine?" I countered. Then I realized that my free hand had wrapped itself around Kaltezira's waist and my face was less than an inch from hers. And she hadn't asked what the hell I was doing and why. She was brave, but I could see the fear in her eyes, and it only made me love her even more.

"Well, I only got to look at that painting for all of three seconds," Kaltezira whispered. I chuckled and we heard the muffled laughter of the soldiers below us. I watched as Kaltezira rolled her eyes and reached the sword at her hip.

"Do that we are both dead," I informed her, grabbing her hand to stop her.

"Zhayrald, you're going to be dead if you don't come down here," Ziaghra called up to me. Way to ruin the moment. More like stab the moment through the heart and watch it bleed to death.

"Mother," I complained, turning around to face Ziaghra. Right now, I really hated her.

"I was going to tell you that we should be going in anyway," Kaltezira said, now standing next to me, her wings pulled tightly against her back. "It's going to rain soon."

"How do you know?" I wondered as she jumped from the tower, landing on the hard packed dirt below.

"Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning," she recited like a nursery rhyme. "Duh." I barely heard her say the last part as thunder rolled through the sky and it started pouring. Great, just great.

As I jumped from the watchtower, being the coordinated genius I am, I lost my footing and fell on my back into the mud. Of course, Kaltezira saw the whole thing and laughed, her laughter ringing in my ears even through the thunder. I glared at her as I tried to pull myself up, only to fall back down when she smiled. I sat there, stunned as the rain fell on me and Ziaghra greeted Kaltezira. I heard the two talk but the words did not register in my mind.

"Let's get you out of the rain, first. Zhayrald, get out of the mud," my mother called, breaking me out of my trance. I let out a silent sigh and pulled myself up.

"I'm trying, Mother," I told her, standing. I thought I heard Kaltezira's faint chuckle as I jogged over to them, covered in mud. I rolled my eyes and walked beside Kaltezira as Ziaghra led us back to the castle. I was surprised by how easily Kaltezira fell into step with us, in more ways than in the literal sense. It seemed as if she belonged here.

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**yay! that was fun to write...if you review...well i cant give u plushies cause i don't have any...but i can give u a cookie!**


	3. Chapter 2

**i got like 3 more reviews! yay! and i got questions! double yay!**

**shurikengrl (whos like my bbfl :) )- sexual references r in this chapter! (yay!) if u cnt find it...read it again and again and again until u find it. and the story would actually make sense if u read the first one..'cause i know u still havent dnt lie. **

**Malabsorbent- this story is in MaxRide 'cause i had no where else to put it and its sorta like a future-fic. like after the flock save the world. im going to write a prequel after the sequel to this story so you will know exactly how max&co. saved the world. hope u like it anyway. :)**

**The nxt chapter is like one of my favs so the faster you review, the faster u get it!**

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_Chapter Two: I Swear She Flew Off the Canvas _

At dinner that night, I sat across from Kaltezira and next to my mother, who sat at the head of the table. I had managed to get all of the mud out of my feathers and my hair, after about an hour.

Kaltezira never ceased to surprise me. As if I thought she couldn't look any better, she looked simply amazing as her long, waist length hair managed to shine in the little light as it fell in small waves down her back, even if she was stuffing her face with food like she hadn't eaten in years. What surprised me more was that she insisted on wearing jeans and a t-shirt to dinner, not like Ziaghra objected or anything. Of course, she hadn't been raised by Itrantia, she had been raised by her father, Balvor, who I had never met personally, but had heard that he would have cared less about the rules and customs.

"When was the last time you ate?" I asked her as I slowly ate.

"A decent meal?" Kaltezira inquired with her mouth full. "Three years easy."

"Where have you been? Hiding in the woods from your psycho mother?" I joked.

"Pretty close," she answered casually, swallowing. "I've been hiding in the bushes outside your window, watching you every night." What the hell?! I stared at her like she was crazy. She laughed at the expression on my face and then I remembered that my room was like on the third floor and there were no bushes below my window.

"I was kidding. I have been flying all over the world, finding a place where I belonged; I thought I was the only avian."

"And then you found Zlhorv," I said, filling in the blanks, "and found out that your crazy mother wants to kill you so she can destroy us." I shuddered, internally, at the idea.

"Exactly," Kaltezira agreed.

"But what I don't get is where you grew up," my mother commented. "You couldn't have grown up on your own." I was pretty sure that she had mentioned this before. I only wish I could have rolled my eyes with out being noticed.

"I didn't," Kaltezira explained. "My father raised me with the Rez. As far as I know, he's still there."

"That's the last place I expected Balvor to go."

"It was probably the last place Itrantia would expect," I commented.

"She didn't even check there. She's not the smartest power hungry dictator I've known," Kaltezira joked. This girl had a good sense of humor.

"She's the only power hungry dictator you've known," I pointed out. She shrugged, finished her third serving of food. I looked down at my own plate to realize I had barely eaten. It didn't matter; I wasn't hungry. I heard Ziaghra's chair push back against the tile as she stood.

"How long did you say you got to look at the painting?" she asked Kaltezira.

"About two seconds," Kaltezira replied.

"Well we are going to have to change that, aren't we?" my mother said. Both Kaltezira and I followed Ziaghra to the hall, stopping in front of the painting that had become too familiar to me in the past year.

Glancing from Kaltezira standing before me as she examined the painting, and her representation in said painting, it still appeared as if she had flown off the canvas. I knew she couldn't see the minor detail that stood out like a lone star in a moonless night. I wanted to wrap my arms around her waist again, press my lips to hers, and whisper everything in her ear. But I wasn't going to do that with my mother standing here, and I think the rule that I was not to do anything stupid and reckless was still in place. Plus, Kaltezira would think I was crazy, and who knew, maybe I am. I found my fingers drumming on the hilt of my father's sword while I watched her in silence.

"It is obvious to me that Zhayrald and I will end the war," Kaltezira said. "We each have some sort of power that will help us over come Itrantia, the silhouette in the background. The silhouette of the cities, which are no doubt Arez and Zlhorv, means, I believe, that the war will end in a draw, a standstill. All of this is important, but I feel as though I am missing something important."

"You are missing two things, actually," I commented, stepping forward so that I stood beside her. "We will have to use our powers to overcome Vdzr as well." My fingers tightened around the handle of my sword as I spoke the murder's name. If I could prevent it, I would never let Kaltezira know the reason why I hated her mother's right hand man.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"His silhouette is in the painting as well," I replied, tracing the outline of the wolf with my fingertips. I glared at the wolf in the painting, hating it with every fiber of my being.

"What else was I missing?" Kaltezira asked, smiling up at me, expecting me to tell her.

"I'll let you figure that out," I told her, my gaze softening as I smiled down at her.

"It must be something extremely obvious," she said, probably thinking out loud. Hell, yeah it was obvious. It was as if it had extremely large glowing signs pointing to it. But that was just because I knew it.

"I'm probably overlooking it."

"You probably are," my mother agreed.

"Zia, would you tell me?" Kaltezira asked. Ha. As if my mother would tell her. She didn't even tell me, but that didn't mean much.

"No," Ziaghra replied. I watched as Kaltezira sighed and sat in front of the painting. She looked like she wasn't going to leave until she figured out what she was missing.

Ziaghra turned and, with a quick glance at me, took her leave, her footsteps fading into nothing as she rounded the corner. I stayed for another second before turning as if to leave. Kaltezira wasn't going to stop me.

I walked to the end of the hall before looking over my shoulder. She still hadn't moved. I smiled to myself as I spread my wings, flying to the top of one of the decorative pillars that lined the hall. When Kaltezira took no notice of the beating of my wings that echoed through the hall, I sat at the top of the pillar closest to her and watched in silence.

With quick practiced movements, Kaltezira pulled something out of her pocket and placed something in her ears. She let herself lie back on the cold tile as she examined the painting, seeming to be listening to whatever she had put in her ears.

And she just lay there…

For four hours…

And I remained motionless…

Watching her in the silence…

From the top of the stone pillar with my feet dangling from the edge…

For four straight hours…

Long after the sun had ducked under the horizon and the moon began to shine through the window, her eyes drifted close. She was so silent that she seemed to be sleeping, until she opened her wings and let them rest on the pale colored tiles.

True to the painting, her feathers were as dark as the darkest night, like mine, and the tips looked like they had been dipped into pools of fresh blood. Not a single feather looked different from the rest, not one had a tip as white as mine. Maybe that part of the painting was just there for representation of the connection I knew I shared with the princess.

Just as I was about to jump down and walk over to her, to see if she was actually asleep, when her eyes shot open and her wings folded against her back so abruptly that I had to scramble back onto the top of the pillar. Her eyes stared at the painting as her hands returned whatever she had pulled from her pocket to her pocket as she stood. Tracing her wings with her fingertips in the painting, she found what she was looking for, what I had known was there all the long. Her fingertips slid down the feathers in the painting, her second finger stopping on the white tip of her left wing and tapping it as she opened her left wing slightly, looked at it and the painting again, noticing the difference.

Then it clicked, I saw it in her eyes. Her cheeks became a rosy pink as she stared at the floor, gentle waves of light brown hair hiding her face. I laughed to myself as I jumped from the pillar, landing silently.

"When you realize things, you can't hide it. No matter how hard you try," I commented as I walked up to her. Kaltezira was shocked that I was there, but tried to hide it.

"What?"

"I saw when you figured it out. Your eyes widened and you immediately looked at the floor," I explained, leaving out how deeply she had blushed. Kaltezira blushed an even deeper red and I couldn't help but laugh as I wrapped my arms around her waist, her folded wings pressing against my chest, and rested my chin on her shoulder.

"Where have you been all my life?" I whispered in her ear.

"I told you," she answered, her eyes not leaving the painting as a smile formed on her lips. "I've been in the bushes outside your window, watching your every move. I've always been there, you've just never noticed." I laughed again and pressed my lips into her hair. "How long were you there?"

"The entire time," I told her. "I never really left."

"How much did you see?"

"Everything," I responded.

"How long was I there, just lying on the floor?" she asked.

"A couple hours," I said. "Are we done playing twenty questions?"

"There were only three questions, and yes," she replied with a yawn.

"Since I know the last time you ate a decent meal, not counting tonight, was three years ago, I'm going to assume that was the last time you actually slept," I pointed out as Kaltezira yawned again.

"Basically," she agreed. I chuckled again and led her upstairs, keeping an arm around her waist. If I didn't, she would probably fall asleep on the tile floor and force me to carry her up the stairs, not like I would have minded.

As I watched her, I found it hard to believe that she was the same girl that looked like she was out to destroy us this morning. She just looked so peaceful with her head rested on my shoulder, a content smile on her face as her eyelids struggled to stay open, not like a person that would kill you without a second thought.

As I opened the door to the guest room next to mine, I watched as Kaltezira collapsed on the bed, chuckling as she buried her face in the pillow.

"The last time you slept on a real bed?" I asked.

"Never," she replied.

"Nice," I commented. Kaltezira chuckled as she sat up on the bed and I sat next to her.

"Thanks, Zhay," she told me, using the shortened version of my name, "for everything."

"Thanks for not calling an army down on us, Kalte," I answered. As I smiled, I realized how close we really were. Our faces were practically touching, only an inch from each other. Kaltezira's breath was warm on my face; the scent that rolled off her skin seemed so natural, so wild. We were so close, yet so far away. And the best part? My mother wasn't here to kill the moment.

When my lips met hers, the shock that ran through me affected my entire being. I suddenly wanted her as close to me as physically possible, but that would involve…well, let's just say that I am starting to question my own sanity with the thoughts I just thought. I mean, I like just met this girl this morning! Damn, maybe I am going insane…or this all some crazy dream. **((---HINT HINT. *pokes last paragraph repeatidly* yes i cant spell. thats why i love spell check.)) **

My arm curled around her waist and my fingers found themselves in her hair. Her lips were hesitant against my own, and I understood why. When my lips peeled themselves from hers, her arms were just wrapping around my neck. That had been the longest and the best two seconds of my life.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Wow is an understatement," Kaltezira told me, her breath hot and heavy on my face. "Now I won't be able to sleep." I chuckled as I straightened and rested my chin on the top of her head as she rested her head at the base of my neck.

"If I leave, will you sleep?" I asked, my fingers stroking her hair subconsciously.

"No, I'll just stare at the ceiling all night," she muttered into my neck.

"And if I don't leave?" I wondered. Her head lifted so that her hazel eyes stared into my blue ones.

"I'll stare at you," she answered. I smiled and wrapped my other arm around her waist, pulling her closer, her chin resting on my shoulder.

"I guess I'm gonna have to force you go to sleep then," I told her. I almost burst out laughing when she rolled her eyes; she was daring me to try. Silently, I drew circles between her wings and watched as she fell asleep in my arms. I laid her down on the bed as softly as I could, surprised when she didn't stir. Brushing a piece of hair out of her face, I kissed her forehead and returned to my room.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. this chapters kind of short. but its one of my favorites, so yay!**

**Okay i got a contest for all of you...i am currently working on the REAL sequel to both Untamed Soul and this story and i need your help. This contest has 2 parts:**

**Part Numero Uno: in the wedding: traditional or those custom written vows? you gotta answer this question.**

**Part Number Dos: if you answer custom, you have to write them, 'cause i am drawing blanks. you have to write both Kalte and Zhay's vows. **

**Just enter in your review and who ever wins gets a character in the sequel (that you will get to make up and i will provide a series of custom names for that you get to pick out of.) and a chapter dedicated to them. good luck guys and on with the story!**

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Chapter Three: Sleepless Night

As I lay down on my bed still in the clothes I had been wearing all day, I realized what had happened today. The day I thought would never happen, happened. I thought, for a long time actually that I would never get to see, let alone meet Kaltezira. I got to do that and so much more.

Now, what lay ahead for me, and her, was a confusing road with a ton of danger. A war lay on the horizon, both for us and the entire avian nation. By the look of her and only knowing her for a day, that was right up Kaltezira's alley. She was used to the constant danger, accustomed to not eating for days at a time, to having to survive to see the light of the next day. She was used to all of this danger in her life because she had grown up around it.

I, on the other hand, had no idea what I was getting myself into by loving this girl. And since she had to escape from the hands of Itrantia, I guessed it was only a matter of time before I found find out how deep this ocean really was.

But I did know one thing that I knew she didn't. I knew how to live, well, the way I lived, even if I didn't really like it. I had grown accustomed to people treating me differently because of who I was. I knew how to not lose your sanity in the craziness of this city, or how to make an entrance without making people think you were there to kill them. Oh, what the hell was I thinking? None of the shit I had been taught in my life was important.

I sighed and sat up in bed. I was not going to be able to sleep like this, my thoughts racing at one hundred miles an hour. Then Kaltezira's words echoed in my ears. Whether they were from only minutes or hours ago, I didn't know:

"_If I leave, will you sleep?"_

"_No, I'll just stare at the ceiling all night."_

"_And if I don't leave?"_

"_Then I'll stare at you."_

Knowing that she was just in the room next door, less than twenty five feet from me only separated by a wall, wasn't good enough. I needed to see her again. If I didn't, I was just going to continue to stare at the ceiling all night and not sleep.

Goosebumps trailed up my legs as my feet crossed the wooden floor and then moved to the stone as I walked into the hall. I took two steps before I was standing in front of Kaltezira's door. I paused outside the door, sighed, and gripped the golden doorknob. The door creaked while I swung it open just enough to enter the room. As I shut the door behind me, I glanced over at Kaltezira.

She had barely moved from where I had left her and the squeaky door had no affect on her even breathing or her still form. Even as the floor boards squeaked beneath my feet with every step I made towards her, she slept on, undisturbed. Against the pillow, her hair was splayed in every direction as she slept on her side, her back to me. As I stood at her bedside, Kaltezira shifted her weight so that she slept on her back. Somehow, I could tell that this wasn't her most restful sleep. Maybe it was the somewhat pained expression on her face.

I considered waking her up, but sided against it. I doubted she was much of a morning person, even if it was still dark. I knelt next to the bed and rested my head on my hands, just watching her sleep, for the longest time.

I could have stayed there all night if I felt like it, but eventually, the wood pressing into my knees was going to drive me crazy. By then, Kaltezira had returned to sleeping on her side so that I could watch her wings fidget every few moments. Even in the faint moonlight, I could make out the red tips of her feathers. My fingers itched to reach out and stroke the pure black feathers, to make sure this wasn't some crazy dream, but I remembered that today had been just too perfect to be a dream.

Careful not to wake her, I climbed up onto the bed next to her. I laid there, my hands behind my head, just watching her sleep. My eyes drifted closed after several minutes, but shot open instantly as I felt a new weight against my side.

My whole body stiffened as I realized what its source was. Kaltezira was still sleeping on her side, but this time facing me. She had rolled over so that her head rested on my chest and her body pressed against my side with her left palm flat on my chest not far from her head. For a moment, I wondered if she had woken, but the thoughts were pushed away as a soft sigh escaped her lips and she smiled. I smiled back, even if I knew she was still asleep and wrapped my arm around her, my fingers running through her soft hair. She seemed so peaceful now, as if she knew I was there.

I pressed my lips into her hair and let my eyes close, finally being able to sleep.

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**wasn't that cute? and now you know...lol :) the review button doesn't bite now...press it..u know u want to.**


	5. Chapter 4

**hey everyone. sorry i haven't been updating. schools been kinda busy. and i haven't gotten any reviews. if it sucks, you guys can tell me. i don't care. critism makes the sequel better. so i would like some reviews just so i know like this is still being read so i don't post it for nothing. i know you guys know what's gonna happen anyway.......but all the secrets are going to be reveled soon so just stick with me. **

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Chapter Four: Learning to Live

I woke up before Kaltezira the next morning. Well, I couldn't really tell it was morning considering the sky was as dark as night. The light tapping on my window told me that it was raining. I guessed it was about eleven, maybe closer to noon. Not being able to sleep, I let my fingers stroke Kaltezira's hair again, enjoying watching her sleep.

Soon enough, she stirred and opened her eyes. I smiled to myself as she stared at the wall for a moment and then found myself smiling down at her as she looked up at me.

"Well, hi," she murmured, blinking. I could tell she was surprised to see me here, and even more surprised to wake up with her head on my chest.

"Morning," I replied casually.

"Shouldn't you be in your room?" Kaltezira wondered.

"I should be," I told her, "but I couldn't sleep."

"Won't Ziaghra be pissed if she catches us like this?" she asked after staying silent for a moment. I had to chuckle at the absurdity of the question. I kissed her forehead before answering.

"She wouldn't care if you had another head and a tail," I said. "I grew up kind of alone, the guards were really my only friends. I never hung out with people my age. She hid the prophecy from me until I was sixteen, and it was then I realized why I never really connected with any of the girls my age." Kaltezira seemed to understand the partial lie as she nodded. I could only wonder why.

"Well in that case," she murmured, resting her head on my chest and closing her eyes, trying to go back to sleep. I rolled my eyes.

"Nice try," I said, sitting up, leaving Kaltezira to fall back down on the bed. I looked over my shoulder, smiling, to see her just lying there, dazed.

"Now I won't be able to sleep," she grumbled, sitting up. Even though her hair had been going in one hundred directions in her sleep, it managed to all come together and still fall in gentle waves down her back.

"What time is it? Three in the morning?"

"It's almost noon. It's been raining all day," I guessed. She seemed to believe me. Without warning, Kaltezira climbed off the bed and walked over to the window, opening it effortlessly and letting her hand feel the falling rain.

"Come on," she told me, "We're going flying."

"But it's raining," I pointed out. She gave me a look that said 'No duh, Caption Obvious,' and flicked the water droplets from her fingers at me. I was as startled as if someone had dumped a bucket of water on my head, why I don't know. Kaltezira burst into laughter at my expression.

"That's the point," she said, still laughing. When I had no answer, her laughter abruptly stopped and she looked shocked. "Don't tell me you've never flown in the rain before."

"I've never flown in the rain before," I stated quite plainly.

"Then you haven't lived," Kaltezira told me, dragging me off the bed and towards the window. "It's just water. You're not going to die," she informed me as she sat in the windowsill, one leg hanging out of the window, and the other still in the room.

"And if it does kill me?" I joked with a smirk. Kaltezira just rolled her eyes and dragged me onto the windowsill so that I sat in front of her with one leg in the room and one out like she did.

"What am I going to do with you if you don't know how to live?" she asked me. I chuckled softly and ran my fingers through her hair. I moved so that my face was less than an inch from hers.

"Teach me," I whispered. I had to admit, she set herself up for that one. But then she did the last thing I would expect, she tore herself from my grip and dove out the window. I prevented myself from making out with the side of the window fast enough to watch her extend her wings and gain altitude a mere fifty feet from the ground. As soon as she was outside the city, I saw her glance back. I might as well just get it over with. With a silent sigh, I let myself fall from the windowsill.

The thrill of falling like this was indescribable. The wind pulled my hair off my face and the gentle rain drops caressed the feathers of my wings. I pulled my wings open about one hundred feet from the ground and let my momentum carry me upward and over the city walls, just as Kaltezira disappeared into the forest.

I dove after her, almost hitting a branch within five seconds. I flew slowly, compared to Kaltezira. She wove in and out of the trees at a speed at which I would have killed myself. As the rain drops that fell slowly between the trees soaked my hair, I picked up speed. I managed to keep up with Kaltezira, somewhat, but kept hitting tree branches every couple of minutes.

"Isn't this kinda dangerous?" I called up to her.

"Yes, but it's not life threatening," she answered, not looking back.

"Are you sure?" I asked, hitting another branch. "Ow, damned branch." More like, damn, Kaltezira distracted me again.

"To you, it could be life threatening, considering that's the fifth tree you've hit," she pointed out. I rolled my eyes and turned right into another group of trees.

I flew parallel to her now, hidden by the line of trees between us. I managed not to crash into anything; I was getting better at this. When Kaltezira stopped, her eyes darting from place to place, looking for me, I circled around. I flew at her from below, scooping her up in my arms as her wings folded themselves against her back.

"Well, hi," I said, smiling down at her. Her long brown hair was plastered to her back and the sides of her face from the rain as mine was and her hazel eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Hi," she answered as I landed in a tree. "Was I right, or was I right?" she asked, amused, as I put her down, and sat next to her.

"About what?" I asked.

"That you haven't lived until you have flown in the rain," Kaltezira reminded me. I nodded in agreement. She would just have to wait until I took her flying through the mountains. Now that was a way to live.

"You were right about that. But why'd you fly out the window?" I asked, curious.

"'Cause it was the only way to get you out here," she told me, grabbing a branch above her hand and using it to pull herself into a standing position, sending a group of raindrops down to land on me. "It was either that or I could have pushed you."

"You could have just pushed me then," I replied, standing up on the branch. Kaltezira smiled and leaned against the tree trunk behind her.

"Then I wouldn't have seen the priceless expression on your face," she joked. Thunder rolled in the distance and the rain came down just a bit harder under the trees as I stepped closer to her. I smiled down at her as I rested my hand on the bark of the tree just above her head.

"What am I going to do with you, Kalte?" I asked, wondering what sort of reaction I would get.

"Love me and let us save the world however we are supposed to," she answered without hesitation. I could tell that she hadn't really thought about that. I watched as she tore her gaze from mine, her face turning red. I chuckled and leaned closer to her, our faces so close I could feel the heat radiating off the blush in her cheeks.

"I'll do the first part," I whispered to her, her brilliant hazel eyes darting to meet mine. "I'll leave fate to figure out the rest."

When I kissed her this time, like her answer, Kaltezira didn't hesitate in kissing me back. Her hands felt warm against the back of my neck as her fingers tangled themselves in my hair. I think this time, I was the one who was shocked, somewhat. As that shock ran through my body, affecting me all the way to the center of my being, my arm curled around her waist, my hand resting on her lower back, pulling her as close to me as I could without letting us fall out of the tree. Without thinking about it, my lips slowly began to move against hers. As she did the same, I heard her breath escape her parted lips in ragged gasps.

Much to my regret, it was the lack of air in my lungs that made me pull away. I smiled as Kaltezira moaned softly as her lips left mine, pressing my forehead to hers.

"This is all so weird to me," she murmured, her breath hot and sweet on my face.

"How?" I asked letting my fingers toy with her hair before my palm rested on the side of her face.

"I grew up not loving anyone. I thought there was no one like me in the world. I thought I was alone," she explained, her fingers running through my hair, her hand tracing my jaw, moving to rest on the side of my face for only an instant before her fingers ran across my cheek, returning to my hair.

"I thought I would never love anyone the way I love you." My heart practically skipped a beat as I smiled down at her. She could have said that in fewer words, three to be precise, but I didn't really care.

"You'll never be alone, Kaltezira," I told her, "I'll always be with you. Never forget that." I wrapped both of my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me, closing all spaces between us as I kissed her, letting that shock flow through me again.

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**one review. thats all i ask for. please? and don't forget about that contest i mentioned in the last chapter 'cause i am totally stuck without you guys! **


	6. Chapter 5

**Yay! someone reviewed! and you are all going to be happy because this is when we learn how Zhay didn't loose his sanity..or did he loose his sanity and was really good at hiding it? -.- **

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Chapter Five: Now This Is How You Live…And Living Sucks

I could have died and gone to heaven for the past week, but I did come pretty darn close. Who knew that spending so much time with one girl could be so much fun? The past week with Kaltezira had contained the best days of my life.

Everyday, we would fly to where ever the wind currents took us, talking about what ever crossed our minds. We talked about everything from how we had grown up, to some of our deepest secrets. I never brought up my reoccurring nightmares about my father's murder, although those dreams had not haunted my nights since the day Kaltezira had shown up. I think the fact that she fell asleep in my arms and me in hers every night had something to do with it.

Did my mother care about all of this? Hell, no. She was overjoyed to tell you the truth. I think she was just happy to see me happy. I don't think I had ever been this happy since Worzreng died.

Today, I was the one overjoyed. The wind currents carried us towards the mountains I knew like the back of my hand. I had flown in these mountains ever since I was younger, just to get away from everything. I had even lived here, for like two days, after my father died. Today was my day to show Kaltezira how to live.

"So you've never flown in the mountains before?" I asked Kaltezira, flying up beside her.

"Nope," she replied, popping the 'p'. I smiled.

"Then you haven't lived," I said, stealing her words from a week ago. She recognized the words and chuckled.

"I bet flying in the rain is much more fun than flying in these mountains," Kaltezira countered as we approached the mountains. I rolled my eyes.

"You can't say that considering the fact that you have never flown in these mountains, but it's not. You're just going to have to keep up if you really want to have fun," I challenged, diving into the mountain range, weaving between the peaks.

"You're on," I heard her call as she dove into the mountains. After about two minutes, I heard Kaltezira's wings beat against the air, the sound echoing across the rocks. I looked over my shoulder to catch Kaltezira watching me, probably wondering how I could fly through these mountains without looking. I smiled and laughed when she almost crashed into the side of the mountain. Maybe laughing wasn't the nicest thing to do, but the expression on her face was hilarious!

"No fair!" she complained a moment later, flying up next to me. "You had an advantage!"

"So did you when we flew in the rain, so now we are even," I said.

"No we aren't," she told me. Kaltezira could arguably be the most stubborn person on the face of this planet.

"How so?" I asked.

"You distracted me," she accused. I laughed again. Like she hadn't done the same for me on countless occasions.

"You've distracted me on several occasions," I informed her. I smiled as she blushed and we flew on though the cloudy sky. I flew through a couple low lying clouds, enjoying the water droplets on my skin.

Soon, I was able to see the cave I had hung out in when I had run away. I angled my wings down and landed on the edge of the cliff that marked the mouth of the cave. Silently, I watched as Kaltezira circled around the mountain's peak and landed beside me.

"How long have you known about this place?" she asked.

"Found it when I ran away for a day when I was eight," I replied as I wrapped my arms around her waist, her wings, which were now tucked against her back, pressed against my chest, as my chin rested on her shoulder. She turned her head so that her warm hazel eyes met mine, asking me a million and two questions.

"I wasn't the smartest eight-year-old. I ran away because I was really lonely, I didn't have many friends," I lied with a shrug. Kaltezira nodded and glanced down at her feet. I could tell, even by her silent response that she understood my partial lie.

It wasn't like I was completely lying. I had few friends during my childhood, the only reason I had come up here was because of my father's murder. We stood there in silence for a long time, eventually sitting down so that our legs dangled off the side of the cliff.

"Zhay," Kaltezira said, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Yeah, Kalte?" I answered, looking at her as she sat beside me.

"What was it like to grow up, knowing about everything? Your position, your title, our destiny?" she asked. This aspect of our upbringing we hadn't talked about.

"Well, it wasn't the best. I always got treated different. I don't think people accepted me for who I was, just my title and my destiny."

_Even when I didn't know it myself, _I silently added.

"I would have preferred to grow up like you, free of it all," I explained.

"Trust me; you were better off than I was. The Rez people are probably the most annoying people on this planet. They only get to be four feet tall, so you feel like a giant among them. And the never ending feeling of loneliness," she explained, shuddering at the end. "I just felt so alone all the time, like there was no one else like me, no one I could relate to. I even felt that way in Zlhorv, it just wasn't right."

"And then you showed up on a watchtower one morning, looking like you were going to kill us all," I recalled, smiling as I enjoyed the memory. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaltezira smile too as she brushed a piece of hair out of my face with her fingertips.

"And then you almost kissed me in front of your entire city," she said. "And it started raining and you fell on your back in the mud." That was probably the only downside to that day, and Kaltezira was laughing at it.

"And you just laughed." I murmured.

"You would have laughed too, if you just saw your face," Kaltezira told me, still laughing. I glared at her and she just laughed harder.

"Just like that!" I was about to roll my eyes, but then the corners of my lips upturned into a smile, more of an evil grin than a smile. Kaltezira stopped laughing and looked at me for a moment, fear glowing in her eyes.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" she asked.

"Yeah, you are," I replied. Her eyes grew wide and she scrambled away from me and ran to the other side of the cave.

"You're going to have to be faster than that if you plan on torturing me," Kaltezira taunted. I snuck up behind her and locked my arms around her. She glanced over her shoulder as I smiled and poked her in the gut. Her reaction gave me probably one of the biggest shocks of my life.

One of things that Kaltezira had told me that she had never done was giggle. But now, either my ears were playing tricks on me or I was dreaming. This girl, who looked like she would kill you in an instant, was giggling like a giddy schoolgirl in my arms.

"What was that?" I asked, my shock reflecting in my voice.

"What? I giggled. So giggling is illegal here I guess?" she told me.

"You've never giggled. Ever. You told me yourself." She seemed to remember that after I told her.

"Well there's a first time for every thing," she said as I poked her in the stomach again, causing her to giggle again. Kaltezira's giggles turned into laughter as I started tickling her. She tried to escape again, but ended up just squirming in my arms pointlessly.

"Zhay," I heard her manage to say in between laughs, "Stop…it...I'm gonna…bust…a gut….or something…"

"Nope," I answered, popping the 'p'. I doubted that she had laughed this hard in her life and her laughter made me smile. Soon, my own laughter mixed with hers in the air. I couldn't help myself, Kaltezira's laughter was contagious.

"Zhay…really…stop," Kaltezira gasped between laughs. I obliged and stopped laughing as I watched her catch her breath. Only when she opened her eyes and our eyes met did I realize what the heck happened. I had managed to pin her on her back, my knees on either side of her hips and my palms pressed onto the dirt floor of the cave on either side of her head as her hair splayed out in a hundred directions. My cheeks grew hot as a light blush formed on Kaltezira's face.

"Kalte, I'm sorry," I whispered, ripping my eyes from hers. If she hated me now, I could understand why. I had gone too far, way too far. As I shifted my weight so I could get up, Kaltezira stopped me.

"Don't be," she reassured me. She had pulled herself up onto her elbows, her gaze fixed on me. I started to move away, but she stopped me as she rested her hand on the side of my face, her fingers warm and gentle against my skin. I let my ice blue eyes meet Kaltezira's warm hazel and I melted. In the instant they met, her eyes were begging mine to not kill the moment, to stay here, pleading that I kiss her.

When our lips met, a new fire erupted from within me. This fire made me reckless, made me want Kaltezira even more than I already did. I poured all the love that I had ever felt for this girl, even before I had actually met her, into this kiss. Our lips weren't slow and cautious against each other's anymore. My lips became fierce against hers as my fingers trapped themselves in her hair. I felt her wrap her fingers in my hair and wrap her other arm around my neck. My free hand traced her spine downward from her neck to the small of her back, causing her to shiver in delight, her lips not leaving mine. With my hand on her lower back and my lips upturned into a smile against hers, I pulled her closer, pressing her body against mine.

Kaltezira curled her legs around my waist, pulling her body even closer to mine until there was no space between us, as I let my tongue trace her bottom lip. I didn't have to beg for long before her lips parted, sending a wave of hot air onto my face as her breath escaped in a ragged gasp. My tongue slipped past her lips, exploring her mouth and battling with hers. My lips upturned into a smile again as a soft moan escaped her newly parted lips as thunder rolled in the distance. I would have loved to have stayed there forever, to just stay this close to her forever, but the lightheadedness was beginning to become a problem.

I felt her hands slide up my shirt to trace the plains of my bare chest as my hand subconsciously slid up the back of her shirt to rest on her bare back, stroking the tips of her wings that had now slid under the fabric that separated her body from mine. That's when she pulled away. We kept our heads close, our foreheads pressing together and our lips brushing against each other as our breath mixed between us.

"Were you planning to take off my shirt or something?" Kaltezira asked me, a smirk hinted on her lips as they moved with mine.

"No. Were you planning on taking off mine?" I countered hesitantly. Her cheeks turned a deep scarlet as she realized where her hands were.

"No," she answered, hesitant as she pulled her hands from my chest and wrapped them around my neck. I smiled and kissed the bridge of her nose. Shifting my weight so that I could stand, I wrapped both of my arms around Kaltezira's waist.

"You might wanna…" Kaltezira started as I stood. Our heads hit the roof of the cave with a _thunk_. "…never mind." She looked confused for a moment, but then blushed scarlet again as she realized that her legs were still curled around my waist. I chuckled, just loud enough for her to hear, and pressed my lips against her forehead as she let her feet touch the ground.

As Kaltezira strode over to the entrance of the cave, with me on her heels, thunder rolled through the mountains again, louder this time.

"We should be heading back soon," I said as the wind picked up. "Looks like it's gonna be a big storm." Kaltezira nodded in agreement and loosened her wings from her back. The wind blew through the cave and her eyes grew wide as she seemed to hear something I didn't. She took off without a word and flew to the peak of the mountain, looking at something. Her expression changed from panicked to fear and back to panic.

"What is it, Kalte?" I asked. I watched as her lips moved but what she said I couldn't hear over the thunder and the distant crack of lightening. We had to get out of here before the storm hit.

"What is it, Kaltezira?" I shouted over the increasing wind.

"We are closer to Zlhorv than we are to Arez," she replied when she flew down to the mouth of the cave, hovering just over the edge, the wind wildly tossing her hair. "And I think they know we are here."

Holy shit. My thoughts began racing at three hundred miles per hour. What should I do? Get the hell out of here, more importantly, get Kaltezira out of here. They were looking for her, I wasn't important. I jumped off the cliff, grabbing Kaltezira and pulling her into my arms as I took off at top speed through the mountains.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"This will be faster; I'm not losing you in these mountains. I'm not losing you period," I told her. "Once we get out of here, I want you to dive into the forest and head back to Arez. I'll stay here and hold them off."

"No!" Kaltezira objected. This girl was as stubborn as hell.

"Kalte, it's _you _they are after, not me," I said, trying to make her see reason.

"They probably want you too," Kaltezira explained. I managed not to kill the both of us as she pressed her hands to the side of my face, forcing me to look down at her.

"They know about the real painting, Zhay. They know you're involved. No one's getting left behind and I am as sure as hell not leaving you. If we fight, we fight together." There was no sense in arguing with her. It was going to come to a fight, and we would most likely lose. I sighed and Kaltezira's hands dropped from my face, satisfied with my lack of argument.

As I flew out of the mountains and the forest lay below us, I let Kaltezira fly out of my arms. And that's when the rain started to fall.

I dove into the forest, weaving between the trees like Kaltezira had taught me how on that first day that seemed like a life time ago. Her wings beat in time with mine as she flew down beside me a few moments later.

"Itrantia's on our tail, and she brought her entire army," she told me.

"At least we know how to fly here," I said, smiling at her. She smiled back before disappearing into a thicker group of trees, taking Itrantia and a group of soldiers with her. I turned into a dense group of trees, losing a majority of the soldiers as they followed me to the trees.

Twenty of them were still on my tail when I crashed into a tree limb about five minutes later, misjudging my speed and the distance between me and the branch. I rolled with the momentum of my crash landing in the middle of a clearing and stood with my sword drawn as the soldiers surrounded me. With both of my hands on the hilt of my sword, my eyes darted from soldier to soldier, waiting for one of them to attack me. I heard someone land behind me and press their back against mine.

"I got your back," Kaltezira whispered as I heard her sword slide out of its sheath.

"And I got yours," I replied. Just then, Itrantia dove into the clearing in front of me, drawing a light brown sword of her own. Kaltezira turned at my back so that she could watch her mother and the soldiers.

"Okay, lovebirds, I'll make you a deal," Itrantia offered. It took every ounce of my self control to prevent the snarl that bubbled in my throat from surfacing. I glared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Kaltezira comes with us, and the boy gets to live." Nice. I had no name. I was disposable to them. I was just the boy that gets in the way, and totally proud. Despite my lack of name, there was still no way that either of us were going to give up.

"Over my dead body," I said, allowing the snarl to slip past my lips.

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Itrantia asked, sounding like she was talking more to me than Kaltezira. A low growl echoed through the field and in my ears. That growl I knew, much to my regret. A black wolf emerged from among the soldiers to stand next to Itrantia. Vdzr growled at Kaltezira first and then looked at me. He seemed to grin as he recognized me, obviously seeing the resemblance unseen to me between me and my father.

"Vdzr," I growled as the wolf growled at me.

"Still want to stay and defend your girlfriend, boy?" Itrantia wondered. Did she think I was going to give up that easily? It takes more than the wolf that murdered my father to make me back down. Vdzr had already taken Worzreng, but he wasn't going to take Kaltezira from me.

"So be it," Itrantia said when neither Kaltezira nor I moved. "You both will die, and Kaltezira's power will be mine."

"Over _my_ dead body," Kaltezira snarled from behind me.

"Gladly," her mother replied. As by some unseen command, the soldiers attacked, and I dove for Vdzr, losing both him and Kaltezira in an instant. My rage toward the wolf-man was quickly pushed aside by my need to defend myself and to find Kaltezira. The soldiers stopped coming after me as if by another unheard command. Just as I found Kaltezira's unconscious body lying on the wet ground and Itrantia smiling above her, I heard Kaltezira's name slip through my lips before I succumbed to the darkness that suddenly came over me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I woke not long after ward forced on my knees and a sword at my throat. Glancing from soldier to soldier, I found at least half of them holding down Kaltezira, ropes tying her wings and her hands together and a sword held to her throat. She stirred in her unconsciousness; every time the soldiers jumping five feet, like they were terrified that she was going to tear their heads off. I smiled at that fact. She was a person worth fearing.

"What are you smiling at, lover bird?" a voice snarled at me. The grip on my hair tightened, pulling my head back as the sword was brought closer to my throat. I looked over my shoulder to find the man holding the sword to my neck, glaring at me. As soon as his black eyes met mine, his gaze softened, his eyes still a cold and heartless black, as he smiled down at me.

"I knew you looked familiar, boy," he whispered in my ear. "I would have never expected Worzreng's son to be involved." This time, I let the snarl bubble in my throat and escape my lips. All Vdzr did was smile at me.

"There's no need for that," Vdzr said. "I'm just a concerned uncle making sure his niece isn't hanging out with the wrong people, which she obviously is." No, it couldn't be. If Vdzr was Kaltezira's uncle like he claimed, then Vdzr was Balvor's brother. But that wasn't important now. Did Kaltezira know this? I doubted it.

Just then, Kaltezira stirred and her eyes opened. She didn't bother to scream, to wonder what had happened. Her eyes scanned the soldiers, finding me and Vdzr. She didn't seem to recognize the murderer since he was human.

"What do you want, Itrantia?" she asked as her mother stepped before her, leaving me to stare at the queen's light brown wings that protruded from the back of her shirt. The color reminded me of the light brown color of dirt as it sat in the palm of my hand.

"You know what I want," Itrantia replied. "Surrender and I _might _not kill your boyfriend." Kaltezira glanced at the ground the best she could with the sword at her throat. Her eyes reflected her only option and my heart sunk.

"If you die," Vdzr growled in my ear, "send your father my regards." I struggled against his grip so I could try to hurt him in anyway I could, but gave up as he let the blade touch my throat.

"Why haven't you taken me back?" Kaltezira demanded. "You had me unconscious." Itrantia only shrugged. This was all my fault. Because of me, Kaltezira had lost some of her ferocity she had arrived in Arez with only a week ago. I was her only weakness. I had given her a weakness and brought this upon us.

"If I go with you, you promise not to hurt him?" My jaw dropped and I stared at her like she was crazy. I was not worth being imprisoned by a psycho woman and her pet wolf. How could she give up so easily? Kaltezira read my expression like an open book.

I don't want them to hurt you, her eyes told me. I silently begged that she wouldn't give up, just for me. I was not worth it by any means. If anything, I should be giving myself up for her, but that wasn't an option here.

"I promise," Itrantia agreed, silently overjoyed that she had achieved victory so easily. I could detect the fear in her voice, the fear of her own daughter. My heart broke as I watched the soldiers tighten the bonds on Kaltezira's hands and wings.

"I love you," I mouthed the next time Kaltezira's hazel eyes melted mine. "I'll come for you. I'll always be with you, never forget." My heart broke again as I mouthed the words.

"I love you too," Kaltezira silently replied as the soldiers led her past me, "and I'll never forget." Then the soldiers took off, dragging her into the sky with them.

My heart shattered now into thousands of pieces as I watched her watch me as she was dragged to our death. If they had either kept her conscious or had knocked her unconscious when they took her away, my heart would have shattered all the same. She looked so helpless and I could only imagine I did too as I had hundreds of arrows aimed at me. If I took one step towards her, Vdzr would draw the sword across my throat and the soldiers would shoot.

"I'll see you later, boy," Vdzr whispered in my ear, releasing me from his grip and bolting into the forest, not bothering to fly. When I picked myself off the wet ground, they were gone. I was alone as the rain fell, feeling like thousands of nails against my skin. Thunder crashed directly above my head and the rain just came down harder.

**Okay since the stupid line is being stupid....**

**I think that was one of my longest chapters yet! WARNING: the next couple are a bit short. just a bit. **

**But please review! they make me happy inside. you know that feeling inside when u eat chocolate/your favorite food ever..for example CHOCOLATE FROSTING (my sis and i were eating chocolate frosting and she was like 'i bet edward would taste like this' and i was like 'no. he'd taste better.' LOL)? well thats a feeling i get when you review....and if you enter that contest i mentioned like 2 chapters back...ill feel even better. :)**

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	7. Chapter 6

**Thanks to wings for reviewing last chapter! *hugs***

**just a warning: i almost cried when i wrote this. its kind of depressing. im sorry if i make anyone cry. **

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Chapter Six: Flying Without My Left Wing

As I left the clearing, I turned around in the way they had gone, only to be met by a pair of black eyes staring at me through the trees at the other side of the clearing. I could barely make out Vdzr's faint wolf form in the darkness. He grinned, displaying the fangs that grew from his gums and disappeared into the forest once more.

I let myself scream as I punched the closest tree with as much force as I could muster. The memory of my father's death flashed before my eyes as I looked up into the branches of the tree. My blood, the blood of my father, was now smeared on the same tree I had watched him die from. Oh the well placed heartbreaking irony.

As I walked into the forest towards Arez, I wished for the first time that I was like Vdzr. I wished I could lose myself as a wolf and run from all my problems. I could only wish for a lot of things right now.

I couldn't bring myself to fly back, even though I knew it would be faster. As I walked home, memories of Kaltezira and me flying through the trees above my head danced in front of my eyes. By now, I could not tell the difference between the rain on my face and the tears that leaked from beneath my eyelids. With my hands hanging at my sides, blood dripping from my knuckles, and the rain drilling holes in my head, I emerged from the forest at Arez's wall.

The doors creaked open as I walked through them. No one had had a good reason to open these doors in my lifetime. I didn't want to fly over the wall now. Spreading my wings and letting them take to the sky would never be the same. Flying without Kaltezira there next to me would be like flying without my left wing.

Surprise filled my mind as I managed to fully open the doors with my bleeding hands still at my sides, but not enough to take my mind off what had just happened. I felt thousands of eyes on me as I walked through the city to the castle. I shoved my hands into my pockets as I approached the castle. I wasn't in the mood to explain my bleeding knuckles to Ziaghra.

The doors of the castle seemed to open themselves again, silently this time. Well, the doors' hinges made no noise, but the wood hitting the stone wall as it swung with the momentum of my own anger, despair, and pain echoed through the hall.

"Zhayrald?" Ziaghra called to me as I walked through the hall of the prophecy paintings. Where she was, I did not know, considering voices echo throughout the castle. I heard her footsteps grow louder and I pulled one of my bleeding hands out of my pocket when I stopped in front of my destiny. Watching the blood pulse from my knuckles, I glared at Vdzr's outline in the painting.

"Are you happy now?" I whispered, still glaring at Vdzr's silhouette. "First you kill my father, and now you take Kaltezira. Do you enjoy causing me pain?" I traced the wolf in the blood that dripped to my fingers and immediately stuck my hand back into my pocket when I was done. My blood complimented the picture nicely as if it was meant to be there.

"Zhayrald," my mother called from the head of the hall. "Where is Kaltezira?" I buried my head in my still bleeding hands, ignoring my mother's gasp, and tried to hold back the tears. My blood streaked my face when I pulled my hands away to look at Kaltezira. I wanted to let my fingers trace her face, but the blood would ruin the painting and the familiar warmth of her skin under my fingers would not be there.

"Kaltezira," I whispered, leaning my head against the painting and letting the tears fall freely. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"Zhayrald," Ziaghra said, her voice coming from directly behind me now. "What happened?"

"Itrantia happened," I sobbed into my bloody hands. "She ambushed us in the mountains with Vdzr and her force. We were outnumbered thirty to two. They knocked us both out and tied us down. Why they didn't just take her then I don't know. It was either Kaltezira went with them, or they killed me. And I couldn't say anything because Vdzr had a sword at my throat…and she agreed to go with them. I couldn't go after them because they had hundreds of arrows aimed at me. It's all my fault."

"Zhay, Kalte wouldn't blame you for this," Ziaghra whispered.

"She would blame me for not trying to come after her," I snapped, shoving my hands into my pockets again and walking up to my room. I heard my mother's footsteps behind me the entire time. My door shut itself behind me only to be opened by Ziaghra a moment later.

"How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked my voice thick.

"Shut the door without using your hands," Ziaghra explained. I shrugged. "Speaking of your hands let me see them." I was perfectly happy with my hands where they were. At least with my hands in my pockets, I didn't have to see the blood; the deep red killed my heart to look at. My mother sighed and pulled my hands out of my pockets. The bleeding had stopped but the drying blood covered my hands. Only did now did I notice the splinters embedded into my skin.

"What did you do, punch a tree?" she asked, examining my hands.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I did," I said. "Ironically, it was the same tree I watched Worzreng die from." Ziaghra froze and looked up at me. The tears returned to cloud my vision. Who knew I could cry this much?

"Zhayrald," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around me and let me cry into her shoulder. I cried for my father, for all of the years I spent alone, for Kaltezira, for myself. I don't think I've ever cried so hard in my life.

"Zhayrald, everything's going to be okay, but you gotta stay strong," my mother murmured in my ear, "if for anyone, stay strong for Kalte." I nodded into her shoulder, feeling like I was eight again. Lifting my head from Ziaghra's shoulder, I smiled halfheartedly at her.

"Thank you, Mother," I said. "And I'm sorry about your shirt," I added noticing the dark spot on her shirt where my tears had soaked the fabric.

"The shirt's not a problem, Zhayrald. I'm more worried about you and Kaltezira than I am anyone else right now."

"So, Itrantia could come and destroy the city and you wouldn't really care?" I asked, smiling halfheartedly again. Ziaghra laughed and patted me on the back.

"Yes," she agreed. "Now come on, I want to bandage your hands before they get infected." She led me out of the room and I shut the door without using my hands again. I watched as Ziaghra watched me shut the door. I think we both knew there was something unusual about that. But as we walked down the hall, I was already thinking of a plan to get Kaltezira back.

**thelinesbeingstupidagain....................**

**so how was it? did anyone cry? well review and you guys can get the next chapter! **

**oh and some information about the prequel:**

**i am currently working on this story's sequel, Pure Black Sun. A majority is written on paper and i just have to make some changes and type it. my parents have forbidden me from buying books until easter (well now i know what i am getting for easter..:) ) so i won't be able to read MAX until then and start the prequel after i read it. i've heard the book is about water pollution....i guess my begging that it would be better than Final Warning was useless..unless there was FAX, which i've heard there is. :) **

**so please review. PLEASE! they make me feel all happy inside. :)**


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